Share this

Rep. Allen West (R-Fla.) said at a town hall this week he's "heard” that up to 80 House Democrats are Communist Party members. And the first-term lawmaker is now raising money off the incident. "Liberal media targeting me bc I am not afraid to speak the truth. Join in support of my campaign by donating here" West's campaign tweeted on Thursday.

The first-term lawmaker's comments drew a fierce response from colleagues. "It's a shame that some have resorted to name-calling. I'm a proud progressive; not a Communist" tweeted Rep. Chellie Pingree (D-Maine).

Is West right about being a media victim? Will this episode help or hurt his reelection prospects?

Unsurprisingly, the media ran around like Chicken Little with this video edited by the Florida Democratic Party where Rep. Allen West said, “I believe there’s about 78 to 81 members of the Democratic Party that are members of the Communist Party.” The story was too good to check and what they failed to do was seek out the longer clip where he concludes, “It’s called the Congressional Progressive Caucus.” Instead of stoking fears of the return of the McCarthy era, the media should examine the extreme policies of this far left-wing group of Congress members.

Ha ha! Allen West is funny. I guess he learned that during his special briefings he gets, as being someone with higher security clearance than the president (one of his gems from 2010). No wonder Sarah Palin likes him so much!

This isn't the first time that Rep. Allen West has made inflammatory comments and it seems unlikely that it will be the last. In the short time he's been a member of the House of Representatives, he has not only insulted Representative Debbie Wasserman Schultz, but also suggested that "President Obama, Harry Reid, Nancy Pelosi, and my dear friend the chairman of the Democrat National Committee...get the hell out of the United States of America."

But to assume that this demagoguery and name-calling is something that only afflicts Republicans or those identified with the tea party's freshman class would be wrong. Both parties have their wildly intemperate advocates who see themselves as heroic street-fighters, defending America against the truly dangerous influence of opposition partisans.

Another Floridian, former Rep. Alan Grayson offered up some similarly ludicrous language when he was serving in Congress. He said that he had "trouble listening to what [Dick Cheney] says sometimes because of the blood that drips from his teeth while he's talking" and that Democrats were "dealing with people on the other side who are utterly unscrupulous. These are foot-dragging, knuckle-dragging Neanderthals who know nothing but 'no'".

Of course, Grayson did lose his seat in 2010 after serving only one term in the House. But as most analysts will tell you, his loss was likely owing to the fact that his outspoken liberal views were not a match for his competitive district. He would surely have been reelected for decades had his seat been Rep. Nancy Pelosi's seat in San Francisco, Calif.

This is why West should thank the Florida legislature for having "screwed" him. Essentially redistricted out of his already Democratic-leaning seat, he's now running in a district that is more Republican and is likely to be more supportive of his views.

While West may pay some electoral price for his over-the-top allegations, given our polarized politics, this kind of rhetoric will likely help him do the one he needs to do exceedingly well to win his new seat: raise money. West is serving up red meat, not Reds.

Rep. Allen West’s TARDIS must be on the fritz, because he’s in the wrong decade and the wrong reality. The only red scare going on right now is for the biblical wave of red ink about to flood the capital. His comment is outlandish, and offers no political value other than to draw a chuckle or a few claps of glum indifference. It certainly won’t help support Sarah Palin and Herman Cain’s pitch for him to be Mitt Romney’s veep choice.

West charge is not out of the ordinary; he has a long history of gaffes ranging from the hilarious to the horrific. Last year he compared being gay to liking chocolate chip ice cream, accused a Muslim congressman of representing the antithesis of the country’s principles, and connected the Democratic Party to Nazi Joseph Goebbel’s propaganda machine.

His talk is not a reflection of the larger GOP. There’s a good pace of Donkeys with the same proclivity. We must afford West and others like him empathy. They suffer from the debilitating symptoms of terminal Foot-In-Mouth disease. Until the National Science Foundation gets monies to find a cure, late night talk show hosts will continue to regale us with these comedic gems.

Now that Mitt Romney is the de facto head of the GOP, he should call upon his party's Congressman Allen West and all others who question the patriotism of others to cease and desist. Certainly those who urged President Obama to reject and denounce insulting comments by Democrats would expect no less of Romney with respect to Republicans. America would be a better place if we could each stipulate to the patriotism of everyone else and fight our political battles on facts not slander.

As a progressive, liberal Democrat, I was personally offended by Rep. Allen West's remarks. Who did he "HEAR" this information from? A Republican blogger? Rush Limbaugh? Please.

Last night I was flying from New York to Los Angeles and watched the movie about J. Edgar Hoover. It reminded me how the obsession of a warped mind on believing communists are around every corner can do a great deal of damage and cause great divison to the country. And let's not forget McCarthyism in this country.

What next, Congressman West? The Jews? Are they all communists!? I think the Democrats in Congress should sue Mr. West for defamation of character. Those remarks should be beneath any congressional member, left or right. Those are strong accusations and I personally feel Americans and Democratic congressional members should hold West's feet to the fire for what he said. This should not be taken lightly.

Media victim? Seriously? He's a media victim in the same way that Kim Kardashian is: every dollar they raise/make is due entirely to their shameless exploitation of media fascination with them as opposed to any iota of talent they might possess.

These two peas-in-a-pod exemplify the modern-day media corollary of "If it bleeds, it leads," which is "If it screams - or has implants - it leads."

This episode will inevitably help him raise more money from the nutjob base, which helps him. But I don't know enough about the dynamics of his new district to say whether it hurts him with actual swing voters.

People who talk about him seriously as a VP prospect should immediately report back to the asylum from which they've escaped.

Typically, Rep. West attacks the media for reporting his outrageous accusation. Rep. West would be equally angry if one of his Democratic colleagues referred to his tea party caucus as the "brown shirt" caucus. He gets the attention he craves so he can raise campaign funds off of it. His actions and reactions are very transparent. One day, his constituents will see through him, too.

For all of his righteous indignation and patriotism, Rep. West continually demonstrates that he is unfit for public office. In November, his new constituents will send a more able representative to Congress.

Sure Allen West is a victim of the media, just like Angelina Jolie is a victim of her good looks. Give me a break, if you are going to spew this ridiculous trash you need to stand up and own it, not run for cover under the GOP’s favorite “liberal media” claim.

West’s channeling of Sen. McCarthy aside, it amazes me how little respect that so many in Congress have of the institution they spend millions to become a part of. Part of the biggest problem in our politics is that too many members have a complete distain for anyone who does not agree with them. It is no wonder than Washington can get so little done when sitting members of Congress are no longer in the mindset of people across the aisle have a difference of opinion then me, but view people across the aisle as evil. If you have no respect for our system of government and have no respect for the people who were elected to office from districts that are different than yours maybe you should find another line of work.

Dewey ClaytonProfessor of Political Science, University of Louisville :

Rep. West is not a media victim. He is developing a reputation for over-the-top comments directed at his Democratic colleagues. One unwritten standard of Congress that members used to observe was civility. There was a time when first-term members such as Rep. West, needed to become familiar with these unwritten rules if they expected to accomplish anything in Congress. Those days now appear to be long gone. Rep. West appears to say some of the most outlandish things because of the "shock" value and the ability to gain media attention when he does this, which in turn, he capitalizes on for fundrasing purposes.

Allen West's mouth works a lot faster than his brain. He should dial it back, apologize for his ridiculous character assassinations and certainly not fundraise off the unfortunate incident.

If there is a lesson we can all learn from West and from Hilary Rosen's comment on Wednesday it is that our political environment Is particularly toxic and that admitting a mistake and acknowledging that a statement was over the top is not a sign of weakness.

If there were still lingering doubts as to how much of a right-wing nutcase Allen West is, he's more than answered those doubts with this latest bizarre pronouncement. It would be amusing were it not for the sordid history of communist witch hunts spearheaded by Joe McCarthy in the 50's. Super-patriots like West ought to be censured by their own parties.

By the way, since the Republican parlor game is to tie Obama to everything someone else may have said, does that mean Romney is responsible for West?

With the new drawn district it's hard to say weather his chances have improved or decreased. But if he wins he will come back with even less influence than he had as a freshmen.

He is nothing but a "hot dog" looking for headlines. Key leaders in his own party will begin to shun him, and Democrats will have no use for him. He will be an empty suit running around the halls of Congress with a big mouth.

It says a lot about the Republicans that they think it's just fine for one their representatives in Congress to make absurd allegations with no evidence whatsoever. You have to love their "victim" syndrome. When the media point out that they say something utterly absurd, they are being victimized by the media.

The best way for the Republicans to avoid being victimized in this way is to stop saying utter nonsense. That might be a high bar for many of them, but they have to try.

More POLITICO Arena

About the Arena

The Arena is a cross-party, cross-discipline forum for intelligent and lively conversation about political and policy issues. Contributors have been selected by POLITICO staff and editors. David Mark, Arena's moderator, is a Senior Editor at POLITICO. Each morning, POLITICO sends a question based on that day's news to all contributors.